Selena Gomez opens up about being a young Hollywood star: 'I felt very violated'

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The INSIDER Summary:

Selena Gomez opened up about her time as a child actor and finding her "first love" Justin Bieber in an interview with The Business of Fashion.

Gomez admits as she got older she realized the dark side of the business.

The star felt "violated" when photographers showed up to take pictures of her during a beach outing.

Selena Gomez has turned her life into an open book in a new interview. She's revealing how she found her first love with Justin Bieber, yet at the same time felt 'violated' during her teenage years at the Disney Channel.

Now that Selena Gomez, 25, is in the healthiest place she's ever been emotionally, romantically, and professionally, she's opening up about some difficult times as a teen on the Disney Channel where she realized there's a sleazy side to the entertainment industry. After becoming a child star on "Barney & Friends," she went on to star as Alex Russo on "The Wizards of Waverly Place" from 2007-2012, and along the way turned into a teen who became woke to a business that has a dark side to it. At the same time she also revealed that during her journey, she found love for the first time with Justin Bieber, 23. Awww!

In an in-depth new interview with The Business of Fashion, she reveals that "When I was younger, it was all fun to me. When I did state fairs and 100 people would show up, I would be stoked. That was the best feeling in the world. But when I got older, I started to become exposed to the truth behind some stuff and that's when it flipped a little bit. I realized that, 'Oh this is actually really hard, and kind of slimy in certain areas' and I didn't realize that certain people wanted certain things from me. My confidence went through a lot with that." Yikes! . See pics of Selena dressed like Alex Russo.

There was a turning point when a simple beach outing turned into a skeevy experience. "I remember just feeling really violated when I was younger, even just being on the beach. I was maybe 15 or 16 and people were taking pictures — photographers. I don't think anyone really knew who I was. But I felt very violated and I didn't like it or understand it, and that felt very weird, because I was a young girl and they were grown men. I didn't like that feeling," she shared.

It took becoming and adult and falling for Justin for her to come out of the shell of teen stardom. "Then, I would say the last season of my show, I was probably 18-years-old, is when I felt like the flip happened. I didn't feel like it was about my art as much. I was on the fourth season of the show, and I felt like I was outgrowing it. I wanted something different and obviously I fell in love for the first time." Selena didn't elaborate on Justin or mention his name, but it's sweet she mentions her first love. She did share how she eventually found mental health stability after taking pauses during her music and acting careers to focus on her emotional needs.